elvitegravir
1 May 2018. Related: ARVs, Integrase inhibitors.
Single drug formulations of elvitegravir are no longer used. Instead, elvitegravir is included with other drugs in fixed dose combinations.
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Elvitegravir is an integrase inhibitor that needs to be boosted by cobicistat to reach effective drug levels.
Elvitegravir was approved in Europe in November 2013 to be used in combinations that include a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor. It has since been discontinued as a single drugs.
- Elvitegravir combinations needs to be taken with food. The amount of type of food is not included in this recommendation but it may be important to include fat. The food interaction study reported that elvitegravir exposure (total drug levels over the dose period, called the AUC) increased by 36% with a light meal (~373 kcal, 20% fat) and by 91% with a high-fat meal (~800 kcal, 50% fat).
- Drug interactions include with antacid medicines which can reduce levels of elvitegravir. Antacids need to be separated by at least four hours.
- A potential interaction means that multivitamins and elvitegravir need to be separated by at least four hours.
Elvitegravir was originally available as a single pill with the trade name Vitekta. Vitekta was discontinued in the US in 2016 and in Europe in 2017 because the elvitegravir is now used in several fixed dose combinations.
Further information
The European patient information and detailed Product Information for atazanavir are available in PDF format from this link on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) website.
The Patient Information is a simplified summary: what the drug is, why it is used, results from studies and cautions including side effects.
The Product Information is a detailed technical summary that you can access as a PDF file by clicking the ‘Product Information’ tab. It describes more precisely how the drug works and how it is processed by your body. This includes, for example, reported food interaction studies in terms of calories or fat content. It includes more details of the study results and a full list of side effects and drug interactions.
Link to information about elvitegravir on the EMA website.